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The Calgary Flames lost a lot of grit and a lot of character before they also lost the game in Saturday’s 4-3 setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Glencross struggled to even get back to the bench after twisting his left knee — yes, that’s the same one the speedy left-winger sprained earlier this season, resulting in a 15-game absence — in the first period, and Russell also exited after hurting his own left leg in the third.

Neither returned to action, and Glencross was spotted on crutches after the contest and then placed on injured reserve a few hours later.

Not good.

“That sucks. There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” said Flames left-winger Michael Cammalleri of watching two teammates limp to the locker-room in Pittsburgh. “I’ve always said, I think injuries are the worst part of our business.

“Glennie has had a real tough year that way, and to see him go down? And then Russ on top of it, who has just been tremendous for us all year? I’m not going to pretend that doesn’t suck right now.”

Glencross crunched Penguins rookie Olli Maatta into the end-boards on his first shift of Saturday’s afternoon affair at Consol Energy Center, but his knee bent awkwardly as he fell backward, and the 30-year-old alternate captain wasn’t putting any weight on his left leg as he slowly pushed his way back to the bench.

Russell had already logged 20 minutes — a good indication of his significance to the Flames — when he was injured just after the midway point of the third period. It was a case of wrong place, wrong time, for the 26-year-old defenceman as Flames rookie Sean Monahan pushed the Penguins’ Zach Sill, and the young call-up fell forward into Russell’s leg.

There won’t be an official update on the severity of the injuries until the two players meet with team doctors in Calgary, but the Flames announced late Saturday that defenceman Derek Smith has been recalled from the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat, which suggests Russell also won’t be available for Monday’s meeting with the St. Louis Blues.

“Two great leaders, but there’s nothing we can do about injuries,” said Flames head coach Bob Hartley. “Unfortunately, it’s part of our game, and it’s going to give opportunities to two other players to step in and get good chunks of icetime and get the job done. It’s all about character, right now. Obviously, if we get good news, fine. If we don’t get good news, we’ll be facing major adversity.”

Around the boards

At his best, Glencross has a mix of skill and intensity that is tough to replace. The two forwards in the press-box for Saturday’s matinee — LW TJ Galiardi and C Blair Jones — are capable of playing that way but are sitting out because they haven’t shown enough of it … The Flames don’t seem to have any confidence in D Chris Breen, a healthy scratch in 11 consecutive games. Saturday's summons of Smith is further proof of that … Instead of watching movies on the four-hour flight from Pittsburgh home to Calgary, Flames C Joe Colborne might have been replaying, in his mind, a third-period wraparound attempt on Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury. Colborne slid the puck through Fleury’s leg on what coulda, woulda, shoulda been the game-tying tally, only to watch it hit the far post and stay out. “Less than an inch,” Colborne sighed. “It’s a long flight home to think about it. It’s going to bug me.”

Off the glass

I’ll eat my words if he really is the next Joe Nieuwendyk, but it’s easy to criticize the Flames’ call to select C Mark Jankowski at No. 21 in the 2012 NHL Draft, especially with Maatta — the 22nd pick — already playing a key role for the Penguins. Mattaa has been logging big minutes for the Pens’ injury-riddled blueline brigade, and it’s not far-fetched to think he could have 200-plus NHL games under his skates before Jankowski — a sophomore at Providence College — even turns pro. The 19-year-old Jankowski, by the way, has seven goals and four assists in 17 appearances for the NCAA Friars so far this year.

Calgary Flames' Glencross, Russell injured in loss to Penguins

The Calgary Flames lost a lot of grit and a lot of character before they also lost the game in Saturday’s 4-3 setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Glencross struggled to even get back to the bench after twisting his left knee — yes, that’s the same one the speedy left-winger sprained earlier this NHL season, resulting in a 15-game absence — in the first period, and Russell also headed straight to the locker-room after hurting his own left leg in the third.

Neither returned to action, and Glencross was spotted on crutches after the contest.

“That sucks. There’s no way to sugarcoat it,” said Flames left-winger Michael Cammalleri. “I’ve always said, I think injuries are the worst part of our business.